Aaaaah. The grading essays burden of the English teacher. It’s a very real struggle for sure. A little while back I did a series on teaching writing, so I’d like to think of this post as an encore to those ideas. (Get started reading that series here at the first post.) Below I’m sharing five practical tips for managing the load.

– Working Those Deadlines:

First is planning time in the writing process to have check points that students submit via Google classroom – or whatever method works for you. Students submit thesis statements, works cited drafts, or even first paragraphs. Then I have a day in class that I “virtual conference” with them. While I’m leaving notes on their drafts, they continue with research typically. They can fix mistakes early and that saves me time later. Plus I’m already familiar with the essay to a certain degree.

Offer extra credit to kids who want to turn in the papers early, and then you can grade them as they trickle in. That helps alleviate the pile of material that comes in all at once.

I have a carefully crafted rubric that is specific to the task, so it’s easy and quick to mark and when students get their grades back, they can see the areas of strength and weakness. I use a separate rubric for grammar. This might seem like it takes longer, but I score content, Grammar, and MLA separately. For me, it’s actually faster that way, so I can just focus on one thing at a time. Those rubrics are in my complete writing curriculum.

Next, I made a codes sheet to make marking quick and easy for the same mistakes or remarks over and over. Download that sheet free here. But I do elaborate where needed, especially if it’s a weaker writer or earlier in the year.

Last, even though it may not be the “English-teacher” way, I don’t always mark every single error, and if an error is made over and over, I usually just mark it and take off points the first couple of times. That saves time, but also it’s not necessary to “rub it in their face.” In this department, I try to show a little grace. Then in the final note (see what else I say in final notes here), I remark that it’s something to work on for next time.

– Setting Essay Requirements:

If you have any control of the word or page requirements, make that work for you. I set word minimums and maximums. Struggling writers need those minimums to meet the requirement, but my excelling or over-achieving students have trouble with the maximum barrier. I hold students accountable at both ends.

– Giving Yourself a Break:

Be honest with students about how much time it takes to grade an essay, and don’t promise grades back in a short amount of time.

Try to space out your grading during the day or over a few days, so your brain doesn’t get tired. When I try to grade straight through a stack of papers, I really start to lose my focus after a while.

Practice self-care. Really – stay hydrated, and sit in a comfortable position with good lighting. I love to score papers on my front porch early in the morning, or by the big window in my office.

– Go Green:

If it works for you, have students submit papers electronically. Sometimes typing comments can be a lot faster than writing them. You can even use apps to leave audio feedback as well.

I use Google Docs and have students share with me or submit to the classroom. In this format, you can switch to suggesting mode to leave comments along the side of the screen.

Students get instant feedback.

I will still have students turn in the hard copy of their rubrics for me to use as a I grade, but you could also use a virtual rubric as well.

Just remember, that not everything works for everyone, but the most important thing at the end of the day is the fact that students do need more than just a number or letter on their essays. That’s certainly part of the package, but in order for student writers to become stronger, they need solid feedback from the pro – that’s you! In that process, though, we can’t overwork ourselves because it takes more time and effort to go that extra mile. This essay-grading burden is unique to the high school English teacher (and that is not to say that no other teacher has stacks of papers to grade). However, most other subjects aren’t assigning 500+ word essays as their unit’s culminating task multiple times a semester. The reality, though, is that teaching students to write well sets them up for a better future, and that is burden worth bearing.

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It’s 2.5
weeks into the start of school, and I have three to-do lists going (and I can’t
remember where one of them is). I’ve already
had a migraine, stomach bug of some sort, and I’ve not been getting enough sleep. What’s the culprit? It’s simple – stress. A teacher’s life will always be stressful to
some degree because that’s just nature of the job, but there are a few things
that tend to add more stress than others.

1) Recreating the Wheel – When I first started teaching over
a decade ago, most of the time when I sat down to plan, I pretty much had to
start with a tabula rasa because I had no textbook ancillaries, no Pinterest,
or TpT. I was also in a district that I
was new to, so I had no teacher-friends there. Now days there are so many resources and
opportunities for collaboration that there is no reason to develop every single
lesson for every single day from scratch.
Certainly there are new ideas that come along for a great project or
assignment, and it’s nice to feel a sense of accomplishment when you’ve created
something new. I get bored easily with
the same lessons over and over, so I’m always trying new things. However, when you’re to-do list is growing by
the minute, and you can’t get a single thing marked off for new things being
added, using ready-to-go lessons from another teacher frees you up to do the
many, many other tasks that you face. There’s
also something to be said for using materials, lessons, and ideas that other
teachers have classroom-tested and tweaked.
Experience, they say, is the best teacher. And, the best teacher is the one who isn’t
stressed.

2) Worrying About Things You Can’t Change – There are so many things in education that
are beyond the control of the classroom teacher. The short list includes class size, students
in the class, class length, the administration, and federal mandates. We all wish for things we don’t have – the
grass is always greener on the other side.
I’ve been reading the First5 messages each morning since summer, and THE
VERY FIRST ONE I read was geared specifically toward this major stressor in my
life. Worry – and worrying about things
I can’t change. The key quote said,
“Contentment is the key to success.” If I’m always wishing I had different
students, for example, then I’m not doing the ones that are right in front of
me justice. Shifting your focus from the
“what ifs” to the “what is” will definitely provide more success than stress.

3) Listening to and
Sponging Up Other People’s Negativity – In the morning you get coffee from the
community pot, and two coworkers pull you into their conversation about last
night’s basketball game loss. They can’t
believe that coach’s bad call. Then, at
lunch you sit down to eat in the lounge where a couple of teachers are gossiping
about the way new teacher dresses and how another teacher is always late. At class change a student comes up and tells
you all about how she and her best friend are in a huge fight and she needs to hang out in your room until it blows over. At the end of the day you have a
headache, and you can’t concentrate. It’s
a slippery slope if you are constantly subjecting yourself to this kind of
environment. Studies show that
negativity leads to a bevy of health issues including heart problems, high
blood pressure, and anxiety. Of course, you are concerned about your students
and coworkers, but protecting yourself first is key to a healthy year. Thankfully, over the years, I’ve found a
happy balance between showing concern and sponging up other people’s problems. It certainly is a fine line. A genuine smile and an open ear go along way
with upset students, but their issues don’t come into my classroom, nor do they go home with me. Even harder, was the tough choice to avoid
the teacher’s lounge and other areas where Negative Nelly hangs out. Breaking away was awkward, but now I look
forward to my quiet time in the middle of the day. Fostering healthy, positive relationships
is valuable, but soaking up other people’s problems is only going to weigh you
down.

4) Working Without a
Plan – I like to plan: my lessons, my meals, even my outfits. However, so many times I’ve sat down to plan
a lesson at the last minute and found a cute idea, but didn’t leave myself
enough time to get the supplies or make the extra copies. There is nothing more frustrating than not
being able to finish a project or task because of lack of planning. Most of the time, a lack of planning leads to
procrastinating or being rushed at the last minute. I also think planning helps with that feeling
of how to eat the elephant. I tend to
see everything I need to do as one big overwhelming pile, and then I can’t get
started anywhere. Reminding myself I can
eat that elephant one bite at a time is a huge stress-reliever, and then I can
make my plan to go forward. The best plan to have is the one that is flexible and
takes into consideration that things change.
I do like to have a plan B for my lessons. You never know when the
projector bulb will blow or when there’s going to be an emergency fire drill in
second period. Planners gonna
plan. But if you aren’t willing to
commit to some sort of plan, there are so many opportunities for stress to take
over.

5)
Trying to Be Perfect 100% of the Time

I’m definitely a “Type A” person, so trying to
achieve perfectionism in everything bogs me down very quickly. In our district, teachers are given a rating –
a number. I’m sure that’s similar to
other districts, or maybe they have other “incentives” to keep teachers on
their toes. Unrealistic expectations and perfectionism can make unfulfilled goals
feel even more stressful. To me,
there’s nothing worse than that feeling of not doing the best. But the question comes down to “whose best?” – “not who’s best?”. Once I decided that it’s my
personal best – not in comparison with anyone else – and the growth and achievement
my students are making based on what I can see in my classroom, my entire
paradigm on perfectionism shifted. The
thing is, it’s not reasonable to be a “5” everyday in everything. Today might be a “5” day at school, but not
at the game, or at home, or vice versa.
Also, I think realizing that there are a few things that teachers work
on to the point of perfection that may not really need to be at the top of the
list could help relieve some undue stress. They (cute bulletin boards, the perfect wall hangings, grading every single thing, etc.) take up valuable time, brain
space, and energy. The reality is, we
are teachers – not robots. No one wants to be a slacker, but sometimes cutting yourself some slack can eliminate the stress.

Maybe you can add to this list. I’d love to hear how you’re coping with the stress of school.